Chronos Cheatsheet

After installing the Chronos Timeline plugin for Obsidian, copy and paste this whole markdown file into a file in your vault to play around and learn the syntax.

Hover on a timeline and click the Edit button in the upper right to play with the data.

Date formats

Chronos can visualize dates from the year down to the second level, using the syntax YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.

The only required component of a date is the year (YYYY). Beyond that, you can specify additional time granularity as needed for your use case.

If not explicitly provided:

• The month and day default to 01 (January and the 1st)
• The hour, minute, and second default to 00 (top of the hour or minute)

Examples

- [2020] A year
- [2020-02] A month
- [2020-02-28] A day
- [2020-02-28T12] An hour
- [2020-02-28T12:30] A minute
- [2020-02-28T12:30:09] A second

Events

Full Syntax

- [Date~Date] #Color {Group Name} Event Name | Description

• The second Date, Color, Group Name, Event Name, and Description are optional
• Description appears when you hover on an event in the timeline

Examples

Single Date

Syntax

- [Date] Event Name

- [1879-03-14] Einstein born

Date range

Syntax

- [Date~Date] Event Name

- [1991~2001] Time I believed in Santa

Date range with description

Syntax

- [Date~Date] Event Name| Description

- [1991~2001] Time I believed in Santa | ended when my brother tried to videotape Santa with a hidden camera

With color

See available Colors

Syntax

- [Date~Date] #Color Event Name| Description

- [2001~2009] #red Bush
- [2009~2017] #blue Obama
- [2017~2021] #red Trump
- [2021~2025] #blue Biden

With groups

Syntax

- [Date(~Date)] {Group Name} Event Name| Description

@ [1892-10-08~1941-08-31] {Marina Tsvetaeva} 1892-1941
- [1916] {Marina Tsvetaeva} "Подруга"
- [1928] {Marina Tsvetaeva}  "Поэма концов"
- [1941] {Marina Tsvetaeva} "Записки о поэзии"
 
@ [1899-08-24~1986-06-14] {Jorge Luis Borges} 1899-1986
- [1944] {Jorge Luis Borges} "Ficciones"
- [1949] {Jorge Luis Borges} "El Aleph"
- [1962] {Jorge Luis Borges} "Labyrinths"
 

Periods

Full Syntax

@ [Date~Date] #Color {Group Name} Period Name

• Color, Group Name, and Period Name are optional

Examples

Basic

@ [-300~250] Yayoi Period
- [-100] Introduction of rice cultivation
- [-57] Japan’s first recorded contact with China

With color

See available Colors

@ [-300~250] #red Yayoi Period
- [-100] Introduction of rice cultivation
- [-57] Japan’s first recorded contact with China
 
@ [250~538] Kofun Period
- [250] Construction of keyhole-shaped kofun burial mounds begins
- [369] Yamato state sends envoys to Korea

Points

Syntax

* [Date] Point Name | Description

- [2024-02-26~2024-03-10] Tournament
* [2024-02-26] Game 1 | Austin
* [2024-02-28] Game 2 | Los Angeles
* [2024-03-06] Game 3 | Tokyo
* [2024-03-10] Game 4 | Jakarta

Markers

Syntax

= [Date] Marker Name

Examples

= [1440] Invention of the Gutenberg Press
 
- [1455] Gutenberg Bible Printed
@ [1501~1600] The Spread of Printing
- [1517] Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Advanced example

- [1945-07-17] {Europe} Potsdam Conference | where post-WWII Europe is divided
- [1947-03-12] {USA} Truman Doctrine | committing the U.S. to containing communism
- [1948-06-24~1949-05-12] {Europe} Berlin Blockade | and Airlift in response to Soviet actions in Berlin
- [1949-04-04] {Europe} Formation of NATO
 
# Early Cold War
 
@ [1957~1969] #cyan {USSR} Space Race
@ [1957~1969] #cyan {USA} Space Race
- [1950-06-25~1953-07-27] {Asia} Korean War | between North and South Korea
- [1955-05-14] {USSR} Warsaw Pact | in response to NATO
- [1957-10-04] #cyan {USSR} Sputnik launched | initiating the Space Race
- [1961-04-17] {Cuba} Bay of Pigs Invasion | in Cuba
 
# Height of Tensions
 
- [1962-10-16] {Cuba} Cuban Missile Crisis | a peak confrontation between the U.S. and USSR
- [1963-08-05] {Global} Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed
- [1969-07-20] #cyan {USA} Apollo 11 Moon landing | U.S. wins the Space Race
- [1972-05-26] {Global} SALT I signed | first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
 
# Détente Period
 
- [1979-12-24~1989-02-15] {USSR} Soviet-Afghan War | straining Soviet resources
- [1983-03-23] {USA} Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
- [1986-04-26] {USSR} Chernobyl nuclear disaster
- [1987-12-08] {Global} INF Treaty | signed, eliminating intermediate-range nuclear missiles
 
# Late Cold War
 
- [1989-11-09] {Europe} Fall of the Berlin Wall | symbolizing the end of Cold War tensions
- [1991-07-31] {Global} START I Treaty signed | further arms reduction
- [1991-12-26] {USSR} Dissolution of the Soviet Union | officially ending the Cold War
 
= [1991-12-26] End of the Cold War
 

Ordering

Order by start date

> ORDERBY start
 
- [2026~2028] Event D
- [2024~2028] Event B
- [2025~2030] #red Event C
- [2020~2030] #red  Event A

Order by start (descending)

> ORDERBY -start
 
- [2026~2028] Event D
- [2024~2028] Event B
- [2025~2030] #red Event C
- [2020~2030] #red  Event A

Order by color and start

> ORDERBY color|start
 
- [2026~2028] Event D
- [2024~2028] Event B
- [2025~2030] #red Event C
- [2020~2030] #red  Event A

Default view dates

Use the > DEFAULTVIEW start|end flag to specify default start and end dates for your timeline’s initial load

> DEFAULTVIEW  -3000|3000
 
- [2024] AGI

Colors

• #red
• #orange
• #yellow
• #green
• #blue
• #purple
• #pink
• #cyan

You can also use valid six-digit color hexcodes. Upper or lowercase is fine. example (Lavendar):

• a379c9
• a379c9